Celebrity Vinyl: Classic Actors Sing

Posted by Kimberly Lindbergs on September 1, 2011

During a weekend trip to my local bookshop I spotted a small coffee table book called Celebrity Vinyl written by Tom Hamling. The book is a showcase for the author’s novelty record collection featuring albums recorded by actors and other celebrities. The book is fun to flip through but Hamling’s a tough critic and seems to enjoy referring to his record collection as the “worst collection ever.” The book got me thinking about some of the most interesting celebrity albums that I’ve come across over the years. A surprising number of classic film and television actors I admire have recorded LPs and I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite discoveries.

I recently learned that Robert Mitchum recorded some albums. His first LP was released in 1957 and titled Calypso — is like so… Mitchum became enamored with Caribbean music while making FIRE DOWN BELOW (1957) and HEAVEN KNOWS MR. ALLISON (1957) in Trinidad. When filming ended he made his way back to the states and convinced Capitol Records to let him record a selection of Calypso songs. The album didn’t sell very well but a year later he wrote and recorded the title song for THUNDER ROAD (1958) simply called “The Ballad of Thunder Road,” which was a minor hit and reached #62 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

About the same time that Robert Mitchum was singing Calypso songs, Anthony Perkins started recording a series of jazz influenced albums for Epic Records and RCA with titles like From My Heart (1958) and On a Rainy Afternoon (1958). He even had a top 30 hit with his single “Moon-Light Swim” in 1957. Perkins loved jazz and his singing style is reminiscent of Chet Baker but obviously he didn’t have Baker’s vocal talents. He was an accomplished singer though and he got the opportunity to serenade some of his female costars including Audrey Hepburn in GREEN MANSIONS (1959) and Jane Fonda in TALL STORY (1960).

Oscar nominated actor Eddie Albert began his career on Broadway and worked in radio before he started making movies. Albert appeared in various musicals and he had an exceptional singing voice so in 1956 he recorded an album of duets with wife, fellow actress and singer Margo. The album was simply called Eddie Albert and Margo and featured popular romantic songs like “Jenny Kissed Me” and “Hello Young Lovers.” But Albert harbored a deep love for American folk music, which he developed in the 1930s after meeting and befriending Woody Guthrie. In the late ‘50s and early 1960s folk music became extremely popular thanks to artists like The Kingston Trio and Bob Dylan so Eddie Albert took the opportunity to record his own folk influenced record titled The Eddie Albert Album (1966) that featured a picture of him and his children (young actor Edward Albert and his sister Maria) on the cover and a surprisingly good rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” Albert also recorded spiritual albums but his most popular recording was probably the theme song for his hit television show, “Greenacres.”

A friend recently introduced me to Elsa Lanchester’s recordings of bawdy cockney songs available on her album’s Songs for a Smoke-Filled Room (1957) and Songs for a Shuttered Room (1958). These are fun cabaret style albums and you can imagine Elsa singing them in a smokey pub to a crowd of loud drunks. The records even feature spoken introductions delivered by Lancaster’s famous husband, actor and director Charles Laughton.

Marlene Dietrich recorded some of my favorite celebrity albums. Dietrich developed her own cabaret show in the 1950s and toured the world singing songs from her films, German ballads and popular standards. She even employed Burt Bacharach as her music arranger and appeared in Las Vegas during the early 1950s. Dietrich had a limited vocal range but she made up for that with her sultry delivery. Some of her best albums are her live recordings such as Live at the Café De Paris (1954), Dietrich in Rio (1959), Dietrich in London (1964) but I also love her German album, Marlene singt Berlin, Berlin (1964). Dietrich’s most widely regarded song is probably her recording of “Falling in Love Again (Can’t Help It)”, which she sang in THE BLUE ANGEL (1930) and I’m particularly fond of her rendition of Pete Seeger’s popular folk song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”

Some of my favorite French actresses have recorded albums including Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Adjani and Jeanne Moreau who even sang with Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall. Moreau’s career took off after she appeared in François Truffaut’s JULES AND JIM (1962) where she sang the Cyrus Bassiak’s song “Le tourbillon.” After making the movie Moreau recorded two albums of Bassiak’s songs titled 12 Chansons (1963) and 12 Chansons Nouvelles (1967), which were very popular in France. Since then she has recorded multiple albums but her distinctive French singing style is especially suited for Bassiak’s music.

Brigitte Bardot recorded multiple albums with her one time love interest, the celebrated French singer & songwriter, Serge Gainsbourg. Bardot and Gainsbourg’s most popular recording was undoubtedly their duet, “Bonnie and Clyde,” which was released in 1968, just a year after the widely successful film of the same name starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. Bardot also recorded some great songs written by Gainsbourg such as “Madrague,” “Harley Davidson” and “Contact” on her solo albums, Brigitte Bardot Sings (1963) and Brigitte Bardot Show (1967).

During the ‘60s a lot of actors started recording albums. It seemed like everyone was harboring a secret desire to become a popular musical artist or pop idol but very few were as successful as the British actor Richard Harris. After appearing in the musical CAMELOT (1967) Harris recorded, A Tramp Shining (1968) with singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb. The album was nominated for a Grammy and the hit single; “MacArthur Park” went all the way to #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Harris recorded a follow-up album with Webb titled, The Yard Went on Forever but it wasn’t as successful as their previous effort.

A year earlier the British actor David Hemmings tried to break into music with his album, David Hemmings Happens (1967). The album featured members of the folk rock band The Byrds but it wasn’t exactly, “happening.” Hemmings’ album didn’t sell well and was quickly forgotten but I actually enjoy some of the songs he recorded including his cover of Tim Hardin’s, “Reasons to Believe.”

One of the most unusual recording phenomenons was the “spoken word” album featuring actors reciting songs (“song-sayers”) instead of actually singing them. William Shatner is probably best known for contributing to this craze in the early ’70s but he wasn’t alone. Before Shatner, Anthony Quinn recorded an album in 1969 featuring his rather bizarre ruminations on love titled, In My Own Way…I Love You. Quinn has a great voice but he was never a particularly convincing romantic lead and there’s something vaguely uncomfortable about listening to him ask “What Is Love?” repeatedly. He seems out of character and completely out of his element but that’s probably why I find In My Own Way…I Love You so darn compelling.

Dirk Bogarde is one of my favorite actors so I get a real kick out of listening to him talk his way through romantic tunes like “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “As Time Goes By” on his 1960 album, Lyrics for Lovers. He’s a first-class “song-sayer” with an absolutely lovely voice but if you’re not a Bogarde fan you might find the whole enterprise just plain silly.

This is a just small selection of some of my favorite albums recorded by classic movie stars who weren’t particularly known for their singing talents. If you’d like to learn more about celebrity records I recommend picking up Tom Hamling’s book Celebrity Vinyl or visiting his website. You can also find lots of information about unusual celebrity records at Hollywood Hi-Fi.

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38 Responses Celebrity Vinyl: Classic Actors Sing

Posted By swac : September 1, 2011 6:49 pm

And don’t forget Sebastian Cabot’s album of Bob Dylan recitations. I try to imagine them coming out of his panther from The Jungle Book.

Posted By muriel schwenck : September 1, 2011 7:23 pm

My personal favourite “spoken word song” by a very famous star is from 1933. “A Lighthouse Shines Across the Bay” with Conrad Veidt back when his german accent was still thick. Very quaint and charming. It’s a tie in to the grand old Sci-Fi movie “F.P.1 is Missing” aka “F.P.1″

Posted By muriel schwenck : September 1, 2011 7:25 pm

A link to “A Lighthouse Shines Across the Bay” :
http://youtu.be/EtOqTb_u2po

Posted By Kimberly Lindbergs : September 1, 2011 7:25 pm

I need to hear that! Over at the Hollywood Hi-Fi site that I linked to they mention Cabot’s album and it sounds crazy. What was the fascination with these “song-sayer” albums? I can’t believe how many actors recorded them. Was the public really screaming for more? Who bought them? My parents and grandparents didn’t own any any but they fascinate me.

Posted By Kimberly Lindbergs : September 1, 2011 7:28 pm

Thanks for that sharing Conrad Veidt’s “song-sayer” song, murial! I love Veidt and that was a real treat.

Posted By Medusa Morlock : September 1, 2011 9:18 pm

I wonder what’s more painful — singers trying to act, or actors trying to sing? Actors singing is infitely more appealing and entertaining, at least!

Love these and it’s great to see these oddities being appreciated!

Wonderful post, Kimberly!

Posted By Greg Ferrara : September 1, 2011 9:44 pm

Well, Medusa, there’s nothing painful about Marlene Dietrich who was a confirmed great entertainer long before she started recording albums. I love her to no end.

Richard Harris is another one that was a great entertainer and his recordings are very good too.

Great way to call attention to these, Kimberly. There’s a lot of good stuff here.

Posted By Jezebel38 : September 1, 2011 9:53 pm

Well, I’d certainly like to get a hold of a copy of “The George Sanders Touch: Song’s For The Lovely Lady” (1958).

Posted By Kimberly Lindbergs : September 1, 2011 10:05 pm

Glad you enjoy them Medusa and Greg! There are some genuinely good songs on these records. I know this will mark me forever as “uncool” but I kind like Eddie Albert’s version of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” more than Dylan’s original, which is nuts but there ya go. And I also like Dietrich’s version of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” more than Pete Seeger’s original.

One “song sayer” I absolutely love is Alain Delon who had a voice that could melt butter. He only made a couple of singles and never recorded an album of his own but my favorite Delon recording is “Paroles, Paroles” with Dalida

Posted By Frank Miller : September 1, 2011 11:12 pm

Perkins was a good enough singer to star in Stephen Sondheim’s “Evening Primrose,” where he acquitted himself fairly well.

Lanchester and Laughton developed a one-woman show out of her favorite music-hall songs called “Elsa Lanchester–Herself.” She also recorded it. It’s really fun.

Great article.

Posted By dukeroberts : September 1, 2011 11:36 pm

I have a copy of Calypso…is Like So on CD. I really enjoy it. Even more so because it has The Ballad of Thunder Road and My Honey’s Lovin’ Arms on it. Other versions have his title track version of The River of No Return as well. If only I could I could find him singing Everlasting Arms I could seriously creep out my sister. Her skin crawls when anyone sings that song because of him.

Another album I love is John Wayne’s America- Why I Love Her. I have that on vinyl and CD. It’s corny (to some), but I don’t care. I absolutely love it.

Posted By dukeroberts : September 1, 2011 11:40 pm

There are also a good smattering Hollywood he-men who tried their hands at singing. Clint Eastwood recorded some singles several years before Paint Your Wagon. Jeff Chandler and Clint Walker also recorded some decent albums.

In addition to the John Wayne spoken lyrics album, I have a Walter Brennan one. Fun.

Posted By dukeroberts : September 1, 2011 11:48 pm

This one is hard to beat:

Posted By Tom S : September 2, 2011 5:29 am

Haha, I am shocked- SHOCKED- that a conservative guy who named himself ‘Duke’ online loves John Wayne’s spoken word album.

Posted By Greg Ferrara : September 2, 2011 7:19 am

Tom, I know who’s going to DJ my next Rave Party (Duke, I’m looking in your direction).

Posted By dukeroberts : September 2, 2011 8:30 am

I’m sure you are shocked, Tom. Ha! And Greg, I used to be a radio DJ, so I’ll be there!

Posted By Howard Fritzson : September 2, 2011 9:04 am

Follow this link to a duet with Anthony Quinn and Peggy Lee singing “I’m Glad There Is You.” Very sexy.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x30g08_peggy-lee-et-anthony-quinn-kraft-mu_webcam

Posted By suzidoll : September 2, 2011 12:32 pm

I think the “spoken song” concept might be an update of actors reading poetry, like they used to on the radio, etc. John Barrymore, Orson Welles, and others were well known for interpreting poetry, Shakespeare, or famous passages from plays with their voices only (on radio, for ex.). It was a signifier of being considered a “great actor.” Welles did a reading of Rime of the Ancient Mariner for an animated piece by Larry Jordan back in the 1970s, which is terrific.I saw Welles on talk shows reciting well-known literary passages and poetry when I was a kid.

In the spoken word albums, actors are dramatizing words instead of singing lyrics, treating the songs like poetry. I believe I saw Shatner reciting a song (“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, maybe) on a talk show many years ago a la Welles. It seems bizarre to us today but maybe not so much 40 years ago.

Posted By Al Lowe : September 2, 2011 1:11 pm

I recently picked up the Jack Paar DVD.

One of the guest stars featured was Judy Garland. She told the following story:

Garland, Noel Coward and a couple friends were relaxing in a quiet club when Marlene Dietrich made a dramatic entrance and sat at their table.

She had brought a record player and asked them if they wanted to hear her record. “What do you do? Say ‘I certainly do not want to hear your record.’ So, we said, ‘Yes,’” Garland said.

They were shocked to realize that this was a record of the applause Marlene received from her nightclub act. Nothing but applause. Noel whispered in Judy’s ear, “I hope there is not more on the other side.”

“And there was!” Garland said.

Posted By dukeroberts : September 2, 2011 3:45 pm

For you, Suzi:

Posted By dukeroberts : September 2, 2011 3:46 pm

Shatner’s “Rocket Man” and “Mr. Tambourine Man” are national treasures.

Posted By muriel schwenck : September 2, 2011 4:06 pm

Before George Sanders became one of cinema’s greatest cads, he sang on stage and was a chorus boy. He’s very nice in “Call Me Madam”
He liked to sing at parties. So not only cold he play hero, villain or cad, he had a lovely singing voice!

Posted By muriel schwenck : September 2, 2011 4:28 pm

Suzidoll has a good point about the evolution of poetry readings. Many many actors had a lot of classical training. They could reel off Shakespeare and poetry at the drop of a hat. It was part of the job. Not only could Charles Laughton sing comic songs, he recited the Gettysburg address on a regular basis. (After he did it in “Ruggles of Red Gap”.) Basil Rathbone could do Richard III and wrap up with a music hall song. Ordinary radio shows featured classical music, opera, readings from poetry and literature, or derivatives of the same. “Popular culture” used to have plenty of room for classics. Just troll youtube for 50′s commercial TV broadcasts of opera, classical music, recitals, and broadway productions.
Then the Method Actors came along. These odd spoken albums do seem like the next step in a classier tradition – but aimed at a different audience.

Posted By Kimberly Lindbergs : September 2, 2011 5:21 pm

I appreciate all the comments! Lots of great suggestions & info.

Jezebel38 – Didn’t know Sanders recorded an album so thanks for sharing that. I did find someone with a blog who has uploaded a few of the songs he recorded in case anyone wants to hear them: http://notoncd.blogspot.com/2011/03/george-sanders-touch-1958.html (wonderful stuff!)

dukeroberts – I didn’t know John Wayne and Walter Brennan had recorded spoken word records and now I’m curious about them so I’ll have to track them down. Wayne has a wonderful & very distinct voice so I can see the appeal. I almost included Eastwood’s early country & western album but he’s such a music aficionado that he seemed out of place with the above group. He really should be taken seriously by any and all music lovers. And thanks for sharing those videos!

Suzi – You’re totally right about the “performance” aspect of a lot of these spoken word albums. Some of the better actors like Bogarde literally “act out” the songs instead of singing them. But I think today you probably have to be really fond of the actor in question to enjoy them. I love listening to Bograde’s spoken song album but I’m sure a lot of people would just find it too weird or really funny. And I understand the novelty aspect. I do find Anthony Quinn’s “In My Own Way…I Love You” record humorous. He literally looks like he wants to kill someone on the cover, which makes the title slightly absurd.

Posted By dukeroberts : September 2, 2011 6:09 pm

Quinn does have an almost murderous look on his face, doesn’t he? “In My Own Way…I Love You”, which is to stalk you and kill you and blame it on Robert Mitchum.

Speaking of Charles Laughton, he also traveled around the country reading chapters from the Holy Bible. I believe he read some on Ed Sullivan too. This was around the time he was making The Night of the Hunter (I keep coming back to that movie). I did hear some of the readings and they are rather fantastic.

Posted By dukeroberts : September 2, 2011 6:17 pm

CDs by both John Wayne and Walter Brennan are available on Amazon.com which is cool because you can preview the songs. Walter’s weary, old, tired voice is especially effective when reciting Old Shep and I Believe.

Posted By Juana Maria : September 3, 2011 2:57 pm

Personally, I love when celebraties are so talented! The first time I heard Bob Mitchum sing, it blew me away. “Night of the Hunter” is a perfect example, he also sang in “Rachel & the Stanger”. Funny, you wrote this article just now, I had dicoved Alain Delon singing on You Tube the other day. Awhile back I had this crazy dream I’m in San Francisco, I met “Nash Bridges”(Don Johnson), we are talking to the mayor. I say: “Don’t worry mayor, this city seen it all:fire, disco, & Don Johnson’s music carreer. Oh I’m sorry.”(I say to Nash Bridges)Well, I’ve been dying to share that for ages but my friends are mostly older and just wouldn’t get that like you fine people. Thanks!

Posted By Jenni : September 3, 2011 5:59 pm

I had heard about William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy’s dueling albums before, and they strike me as campy and hilarious. I echo your thoughts, Kim, who would buy these types of albums? My parents and my husband’s parents didn’t own any such albums, either. I let my kids listen to a recording of Richard Harris’s song McArthur Park, and they rolled on the floor with laughter at the lyrics-even though I’m more familiar with Donna Summer’s rendtition, it is a pretty silly song. My kids wondered what drugs was the lyricist on when writing it?!

Posted By dukeroberts : September 3, 2011 7:23 pm

My dad considered MacArthur Park the stupidest song ever. He called it “That damn cake in the rain song”. To annoy us he would occasionally sing bits of it. His singing voice was like a bullfrog mating with a donkey. It would annoy my mom and sisters. I would just laugh and occasionally join in with my great voice.

Posted By mbm : September 4, 2011 6:01 am

more that you forgot:
-Goldie Hawn’s 1972 album ‘Goldie’
-Clint Eastwood’s 1959 album ‘Cowboy Favorites’
-Telly Savalas released FIVE albums!
-Raquel Welch released a disco single in ’86 called “This Girl’s Back in Town”
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Telly+Savalas
-Mae West’s rock n’ roll album from 1965 (but she always was a singer, wasn’t she?)
-Bette Davis’s ‘Miss Bette Davis Sings’ from 1973
-Jackie Gleason made a number of instrumental albums
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Jackie+Gleason

Posted By Kimberly Lindbergs : September 4, 2011 1:29 pm

Thanks again for the comments folks!

mbm – I didn’t “forget” them. If you read my post you’ll see that I said: “This is a just small selection of some of MY FAVORITE albums recorded by classic movie stars.” Most of I’ve heard of (and I own 2 Salvalas albums) but didn’t include them. And we kind of discussed Eastwood in the comments. The man’s made more albums than Telly Salvalas if you include all the soundtracks he’s done. If you follow the links I posted you’ll find a lot more recommendations but hundreds – maybe thousands – of actors have recorded albums. They’re not all mentioned here.

Posted By tdraicer : September 4, 2011 4:42 pm

Laughton didn’t just read the Bible; he did a double-album called Charles Laughton: The Storyteller, in which he did Shakespeare, On the Road, and Plato as well as things from the Bible. Well worth getting hold of if you can.

Posted By Juana Maria : September 6, 2011 10:43 am

I love this article, thank you so much! I think we could probably go on forever about stars who sing couldn’t we?

Posted By Juana Maria : September 6, 2011 10:44 am

Burl Ives! We haven’t talked him! He was such a good singer and actor. I have him on a record of Disney favorits.

Posted By muriel schwenck : September 6, 2011 9:12 pm

Laughton toured the country doing readings from the bible and great literature to great success. Check out http://www.archive.org/details/G.B.ShawDonJuanInHell for Laughton, Boyer, Morehead, Hardwicke in a reading of Don Juan in Hell. It was a very successful tour across America in auditoriums and other “middle brow” venues. That would not happen today!
Speaking of Laughton’s singing, there is are a few cute youtube clips of Laughton and Tennessee Ernie Ford.

Posted By dukeroberts : September 6, 2011 9:42 pm

In honor of the newly announced 2012 Oscar telecast’s host, I invite you all to partake in the awesomeness of “Party All the Time”. Enjoy!

Posted By funny book : September 28, 2011 6:55 pm

There is a whole book on this.

Called “Celebrity Vinyl” by Tom hamling

Posted By muriel : September 30, 2011 7:34 pm

Speaking of William Shatner – there is a CD called “Horses of the Wind” which features new agey music, sounds of horses, mares, foals, nature and William Shatner reading great quotations about horses.

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